Trehalose
Trehalose is a 1-alpha sugar found extensively in nature. It is thought to be implicated in xerobiosis - the ability of plants and animals to withstand prolonged periods of dessication. The sugar is thought to form a gel phase as cells dehydrate, which prevents disruption of internal cell organelles by effectively splinting them in position. Rehydration then allows normal cellular activity to be resumed without the major, generally lethal damage that would normally follow a dehydration/reyhdration cycle.
Trehalose has also found commercial application as a food sweetener.
